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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Feeling Peachy!

It's peach season here in Ontario. The peaches are bountiful, juicy and abundant in our local grocery store.

While I don't grow my own peaches, I do try to support and buy any and all Ontario grown produce, and preserve and eat it in season! Here's a fantastic way to preserve the freshness of these wonderful fruits...

Spicy Spreadable Peaches

5 cups pitted, peeled diced peaches

4 tart apples, think granny smith

1 can undiluted, frozen apple juice concentrate (thawed)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp grated lemon peel

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

5 250ml mason jars or 10 125ml sized mason jars.

I LOVE seeing the colours and fruit sitting altogether at the beginning of the process!

Place all ingredients in a large, stainless steel pot and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 30 minutes, stirring occassionally or until spread reaches desired thickness. Pour into your prepared, steralized mason jars within 1/4 inch of rim. Wipe your rims clean and put on the lids. Place in a water bath canner for 10 min.

Put on a counter and leave them alone for 24 hours before moving them!

Yum!!! A couple hours of canning and now we have a pantry full of peaches!!!

*this recipe comes from the Bernardin Home Preserving book...it is well worth the $$ to buy this book for yourself...it is like my bible come harvest time!

You could also make these in the smaller mason jars...the 125 ml size. I find that those size are perfect for putting into a Christmas basket. I make several different jams and spreads in the 125ml size, and pair it with a loaf of fresh baked bread. What a delightful gift to receive on a cold winters night!

And, just to make your spreadable peaches a little sweeter...here are some awesome free printable lables from How About Orange that I recently came across. I think they're awesome and would just make your preserves look even more amazing!

I'd love to know what you're putting away in other parts of the world!

Labels

Putting Away the Harvest

I believe in the power of preserving your food! Putting food away is a passion of mine, and I'd like this space to be a shared place where we can share our favourite recipes, tips, and inspire each other to homestead, garden, eat local, buy local and put away the harvest!
Please e-mail any recipes, etc... you may have to
valleyvixen@mail.com